News

It was no wonder Shen Shiying felt such a sense of superiority.

After losing his position at Dawan Village, he and his family had returned to Tiannan City, initially fearing that their future was bleak.

Fortunately, Steward Lai Er was a man of his word and remembered their old ties. Because the ten-year tenure he had been promised was snatched away by someone else halfway through, he was compensated with some spirit stones and given a lucrative post following the Transport Commissioner to collect grain.

The Shen Family Estate was vast and powerful, overseeing an unimaginable number of direct-controlled spirit fields. As subordinates to the Transport Commissioner, their primary task was to assist in collecting the harvests from these fields. While the Transport Commissioner himself focused on major cities and large-scale clusters of spirit fields, the scattered, remote plots—like those in Dawan Village—were left to underlings like them to handle.

Shen Shiying was now one of the runners under the Transport Commissioner, who was currently stationed in Qing City. Because Shen Shiying had once served as the warden of Dawan Village and was familiar with the surrounding area, he was tasked with running errands throughout this particular region.

In the process, he managed to skim a little off the top from every village or manor belonging to the Shen family he visited. To big shots like the Transport Commissioner, these scraps might mean nothing, but for low-level collateral branches like himself, these small gains added up to a mountain of wealth!

Along the way, Shen Shiying had only visited five villages and manors under the Shen banner, yet the wealth he had accumulated was already no less than the annual income he had received back when he was the warden of Dawan Village.

Comparing this to the current misfortune of the brat who had "forcibly seized" his foundation, how could Shen Shiying not feel a sense of smug satisfaction? It even made him feel as if he were floating on air.

Shen Changchuan was, of course, unaware of the shift in Shen Shiying's inner thoughts. However, he keenly sensed the faint air of pride—or rather, superiority—radiating from the man. This was perhaps due to his own keen perception, bolstered by a spiritual sense comparable to that of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

Could this guy be thinking that I'm bound to suffer heavy losses on this trip? Shen Changchuan's heart stirred. He had originally just made a casual remark and played the victim to avoid being targeted by others.

After all, his own harvest this year was not low. If he could promote his improved Spirit Grain cultivation techniques to all the fields during next year's spring plowing, and then use the sediment formed by the water vein essence and earth vein essence dredged from the bottom of the Dawan River as fertilizer, Shen Changchuan estimated that the yield per mu next year would increase by at least fifty catties.

That would mean the harvest for a single season next year would likely be no less than eighteen hundred catties of Spirit Grain. After deducting the one thousand catties required as tribute to the Shen family, he would be left with eight hundred catties, an income of roughly eighty spirit stones. That amounted to over one hundred and sixty spirit stones a year!

Although, according to their agreement, a small portion of these one hundred and sixty-plus spirit stones had to be distributed to the two thousand villagers, other cultivators would likely ignore such incentive agreements entirely and fix their eyes solely on that windfall. If he added the submission of the surrounding villages, his income might even exceed two hundred spirit stones!

Such an income would definitely tempt even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. Shen Changchuan was certain that if this news leaked, it would inevitably stir up trouble. He might even be unlucky enough to lose his position as the warden of Dawan Village and be driven back to the Shen Family Estate.

These were outcomes Shen Changchuan could not accept. It was for this reason that, long before Shen Shiying arrived, Shen Changchuan had already had Han Qinhu issue a gag order to the villagers, using the threat of withholding their future share of the rewards to ensure their silence.

He even went so far as to forbid them from wandering outside or discussing anything related to the spirit field harvest.

He had also prepared himself to play the victim.

"It seems this has succeeded?"

Shen Changchuan's gaze flickered slightly.

The development of events seemed to be proceeding with an unexpected smoothness.

Forget it, this is a good thing anyway; it saves me from having to guide the conversation further, which might have seemed deliberate and aroused suspicion.

After all, although he called Shen Shiying "Uncle,"

they had only met twice; what kind of friendship could they possibly have?

While the long speech he had just given contained a grain of Shen Changchuan's genuine sincerity, they were not close acquaintances.

Under normal circumstances, who would pour out their grievances like that in front of an unfamiliar outsider?

Shen Changchuan naturally had his own ulterior motives.

It was nothing more than feigning weakness to the enemy, so as to make a fortune in silence.

However, Shen Changchuan also understood that too much of anything was as bad as too little.

"Sigh, forget it, let's not talk about it anymore."

Shen Changchuan wore a look of mixed sorrow and regret, waving his hand as he spoke.

He appeared as if he could not bear to bring up such a heartbreaking matter again.

He then shifted the topic.

"Since you have come from Tiannan City, Uncle, I wonder if there have been any important matters in the Shen Family recently?"

"Important matters? I'm afraid I'm not aware of any urgent ones."

Shen Shiying sipped his tea, his demeanor relaxed and content.

It was clear that the confirmation of Shen Changchuan's heavy losses had put him in a very good mood.

In light of this, he didn't mind revealing a bit of news.

"However, not long ago, there was a piece of gossip that caused quite a stir in Tiannan City; perhaps you might be interested, nephew."

"Oh? I wonder what this gossip is?"

"Do you know of a person named Shen Han?"

Shen Shiying smiled mysteriously.

"Shen Han? It seems... he is one of my brothers born of a concubine?"

Shen Changchuan pondered for a moment before asking.

The name sounded familiar, but the impression was faint; nevertheless, Shen Changchuan managed to dredge the name up from the depths of his memory.

This Shen Han

was the younger brother of that unlucky fellow who had died by suicide after being stabbed seven times in the back!

Shen Changchuan seemed to recall that before he left the Shen Family Estate, Shen Han's biological mother had gone mad due to the death of her elder son and was sent to a temple outside the city. Afterward, the First Madam had demanded that Shen Han go with her to the temple to provide care and fulfill his filial duties.

"Correct!"

"That is the very Shen Han!"

Shen Shiying seemed to know who Shen Changchuan was thinking of and confirmed it.

"It is said that not long ago, Shen Han's mad biological mother died suddenly in the temple."

"And that Shen Han, for some unknown reason, suddenly saw his strength increase dramatically."

"He broke the limbs of all the men the First Madam had sent to the temple and left behind a message, declaring that he was severing all ties with the Shen Family from that day forward. He said that the tides turn every thirty years, that he would surely remember the hatred of today, and that one day, once his cultivation was successful, he would return to the Shen Family to seek justice for his mother and brother!"

"This matter is said to have caused a huge uproar in Tiannan City. The Second Madam even took the opportunity to stir up trouble, making the First Madam so angry that she hasn't eaten for days, has smashed her beloved possessions, and has had over a dozen servants beaten to death."

"I also heard that the First Madam has already issued a secret bounty: one thousand spirit stones to anyone who can take Shen Han's life!"